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General: Top 10 Books That Should Be MMOs

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  • wilcoxonwilcoxon Member UncommonPosts: 98

    Some of the suggestions could work but are heavily tied to one character in most people's minds (ex Harry Potter).

    Song of Fire and Ice could work well as it is a well-defined world with no singular character (Martin keeps killing them off). The one potential problem I can see is low magic (most people seem to prefer high magic fantasy games).

    For the people clamoring for a Forgotten Realms MMO, I suspect you will see one (D&D 4e was pretty much written as an MMO so not much conversion needed) but I doubt you will be happy. I'd be very surprised if they don't use the 4e FR setting which was advanced 1000 years so that they could make whatever changes they felt like and remove Greenwood's influence.

    Active: D&D Online (alpha,beta,&unlimited)

    Retired: Anarchy Online, Archlord (beta), Auto Assault (beta), CoH/CoV, Dark Age of Camelot, Dungeon Runners, Elder Scrolls Online, Everquest, EVE, Guild Wars, Lord of the Rings Online (beta,live), Pathfinder Online (beta), Rift (beta,live), Secret World (beta,live), Star Wars Old Republic, Vanguard (beta), Warhammer (beta,live), World of Warcraft

  • LanthirLanthir Member UncommonPosts: 222

    Well  "The Wheel of Time" MMORPG is supposedly in developement:

     

    http://www.mmorpg.com/newsroom.cfm/loadNews/12213

     

     

    Magic is impressive, but now Minsc leads! Swords for everyone!

  • SamhaelSamhael Member RarePosts: 1,534

    So.. wait... Independence Day was a BOOK before it was a movie?  I'm sure there was a paperback out based on the screenplay and a series that followed it but I don't recall any book prior to that that was related.

    The closest thing I found to a novel preceding the movie: www.amazon.com/Independence-Day-Avon-Flare-Book/dp/0380829908/ref=sr_1_22

    And I'm pretty sure that was closer to their production of Godzilla than ID4. 

     

    I'd go with a decent Dune MMO. There's a slew of lore that could provide loads of quests and many different world-changing events that could take place over a several year span.  However, it might get old trying to throw down thumpers in the hopes of catching my epic Shai-hulud mount. :)

  • natuxatunatuxatu Member UncommonPosts: 1,364

    "Wicked" by Gregory Maguire

    An MMO based on The Wicked Years by Gregory Maguire. The books are much more adult and take place in a twisted darker Oz. There is also the looming civil war going on, Loyal Oz and The Free State of Munckinland.. the oppression of Animals and magic and creatures all around. Plus the looming signs that The Wicked Witch (Elphaba) will return. I think it could be very cool and very different to what else is out there.

    On a side note, they are great reads! Wicked, the first of the series, was turned into a winning Broadway Musical. (Although it was made much more family friendly.)

    Not a book but Avatar: The Last Airbender would also make an amazing MMO in my opinion, if taken seriously. (I know there is some childish version but I think it has way more potential. The four elements, bounty hunter, fighter like Sokka... okay tootles.

    image

  • EkibiogamiEkibiogami Member UncommonPosts: 2,154

    I can See it Now... Harry Potter Online...

    Main Channel.. Raid Forming. Need Tanks.

    Got Wizzards coverd. Healers to... We need tanks.

    Will Pay gold for tanks.

    If ye love wealth greater than liberty, the tranquility of servitude; greater than the animating contest for freedom, go home from us in peace. We seek not your counsel, nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand that feeds you; May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity forget that ye were our countrymen.
    —Samuel Adams

  • KankanKankan Member UncommonPosts: 55

    I would like to see something from the John Carter Series from  Edgar R. Burroughs ( Tarzan author as well ).  I remember it as a great series when I read it as a 12-15yr old.  A huge new world with all the creatures he created.

  • VilendlVilendl Member Posts: 33

     

    How about.....

    "Old Mans War" by John Scalzi

    "The Name of the Wind" by Patrick Rothfuss

    "Revelation Space"  by Alastair Reynolds

    I would go "Neuromancer" over "Snow Crash". I thought "Snow Crash" was a horrible book unless you think delivering pizza, watching google earth, and managing your toilet paper supply sounds exciting. I guess you could also practice your swordsmanship and decorate your storage unit while needlessly explaining your same mind numbing theory at length every time you get the chance. "Shutters"

     

     

  • Silver_LeafSilver_Leaf Member Posts: 135

    Harry potter (I prefer to call it hairy potty) sucks big time, hated the movie, hope it NEVER becomes a game.

  • TheHavokTheHavok Member UncommonPosts: 2,423
    Originally posted by Silver_Leaf


    Harry potter (I prefer to call it hairy potty) sucks big time, hated the movie, hope it NEVER becomes a game.

     

    Because you said the movies suck, I take it you didn't read the books.  The books were great.

     

    You also based an IP solely on the movies which were first created from the books which is pretty blind-sighted.

  • LokathLokath Member Posts: 33

    Dark Tower. Pleeeeeeeease.

     

    EDIT: And Alastair Reynolds owns. Just started reading his books with The Prefect, had to go read the original series it was so good.

  • BodeusBodeus Member Posts: 516

    Terry Brooks - The Word & Void series

    or

    Dragonlance Online

  • SkuzSkuz Member UncommonPosts: 1,018

    I think Dune was a good choice but it would have to feature a lot more than just the conflicts & politics of Arrakis, & would need to have careful use of the stories & expand on them a lot to build it into a universe suitable for an MMO

    I would put up my choices to include Philip Jose Farmer's "Riverworld", EE "Doc" Smiths Grey Lensman works, Raymond E Feist's Riftwar & Serpentwar sagas, the collected works of H.P.Lovecraft & Clark Ashton Smith (close friends of Robert E Howard), & Terry Pratchett's Discworld.

  • terrantterrant Member Posts: 1,683

    Dune was done once, by Funcom. They jumbled the whole mess up, lost all the good parts, and called it Anarchy Online.

     

    All joking aside, there's a few things I'd like to see, but I'm afraid.

     

    Wheel of Time would be awesome. But if it's set in the current Age of the books, how would the One Power be handled? Especially vis a vis male channelers? Up until very recently in the books, those guys were doomed to go insane AND slowly rot to death. Also, anyone who DOESN'T have access to the One Power is at a massive disadvantage to those that do.

     

    Harry Potter. No. I like the books but...NO.

     

    Starship Troopers...I love this book. Revere it. The movie ruined it already. I don't want to see that happen again. Plus there'd be a lack of racial choices and such..honestly I think you'd more or less end up with Tabula Rasa all over again.

     

    World War Z would be awesome. Basically a Left4Dead MMO. But kinda a niche game, better suited as an MMOFPS than RPG I think.

     

    Dark Tower would be cool, but I'd have to stab someone if I walked in and Roland was standing there with a ! above his head.

  • WycliffeWycliffe Member Posts: 354

    http://www.massively.com/2009/04/09/infringers-of-dune-dune-role-players-shut-down-by-herbert-estat/

    Why would the IP holders for Dune crackdown on roleplayers in Second Life? It couldn't hurt any existing Dune products (the RTS games) since its not in direct competition.

    Well if they recently licensed the IP for an MMO, then it all makes sense.

  • TheHavokTheHavok Member UncommonPosts: 2,423
    Originally posted by Wycliffe


    http://www.massively.com/2009/04/09/infringers-of-dune-dune-role-players-shut-down-by-herbert-estat/
    Why would the IP holders for Dune crackdown on roleplayers in Second Life? It couldn't hurt any existing Dune products (the RTS games) since its not in direct competition.
    Well if they recently licensed the IP for an MMO, then it all makes sense.

     

    Because people are assholes and they think that if they aren't making money off of it then nobody should be able to use it.

     

  • SkuzSkuz Member UncommonPosts: 1,018
    Originally posted by TheHavok

    Originally posted by Wycliffe


    http://www.massively.com/2009/04/09/infringers-of-dune-dune-role-players-shut-down-by-herbert-estat/
    Why would the IP holders for Dune crackdown on roleplayers in Second Life? It couldn't hurt any existing Dune products (the RTS games) since its not in direct competition.
    Well if they recently licensed the IP for an MMO, then it all makes sense.

     

    Because people are assholes and they think that if they aren't making money off of it then nobody should be able to use it.

     



     

    And if you were the holder of an Intellectual Property that someone else was using without your express permission or consent would you be happy about it?

  • UnfinishedUnfinished Member Posts: 881

    Almost anything written by Richard K. Morgan. The Takeshi Kovacs ** novels have MMO written all over them. Even 'Market Forces' would make a decent MMO.



    ** Major Motion Picture is in development , Joel Silver (producer of The Matrix) bought the rights.

  • WycliffeWycliffe Member Posts: 354
    Originally posted by TheHavok

    Originally posted by Silver_Leaf


    Harry potter (I prefer to call it hairy potty) sucks big time, hated the movie, hope it NEVER becomes a game.

     

    Because you said the movies suck, I take it you didn't read the books.  The books were great.

     

    You also based an IP solely on the movies which were first created from the books which is pretty blind-sighted.

     

    I've read the first 4 Harry Potter books and seen their respective films, for the most part they're very faithful to the books. While plenty of film adaptations (Frankenstein, Do Androids Dream of Electric Sheep? Lawnmower Man) are drastic departures from the literary works, I think its fair to say anyone who doesn't like the Harry Potter movies will also dislike the books.

    That said, I doubt the millions of Harry Potter fans care what you think Silver_Leaf.

  • Melaedha_CSMelaedha_CS Member Posts: 11

    "The universe of Dune is set two thousand years from the present day, in the time of a vast interstellar empire embroiled political struggle over a single desert planet which is home to the spice melange, known to be the single most valuable item in the universe."

     

    Actually, the novel Dune is set about 20,000 years in the future. It's really an alternate timeline from ours, parting at around 1970 - you can check this by the Dune Encyclopaedia timeline. So the "universe" of Dune is set 39 years ago, with the actual novel (and the fight over the spice on Arrakis) around 20k years later.

    That being said, I like the list. :) I agree that there are a lot of very rich universes that might deserve a place there, many of which have been bungled so badly in the video game past (like the Dragonriders of Pern RPG that was painful for even a fan to get through) that it would be unlikely to see them picked up again. :(

  • IronicIronic Member UncommonPosts: 13

    I'm waiting for a Twilight MMORPG :P

  • Wizardling6Wizardling6 Member Posts: 94

    How about Peter F. Hamilton's Night's Dawn Confederation? Or his Commonwealth universe? Either would IMHO make for a vibrant and diverse universe in which to set an MMO. Harry Potter - meh. Dullness.

    If you're not part of the solution, you're part of the precipitate.

  • fudi84fudi84 Member Posts: 7

    Discworld anyone?

  • lethyslethys Member UncommonPosts: 585

    I originally put the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, but how about The Iliad and The Odyssey?  What a great number of PvP possibilities...its a slightly mystical world so that allows for some great bosses, Odysseus is king.  Iliad provides the setting of the Trojan War, and PvE bosses could be things such as Cyclops, Sirens, Circe, etc.

    Such strong possibilities for a great game, wow.  Maybe a game that just includes all that kind of lifestyle and lore with the greek gods would be very, very nice.

  • terrantterrant Member Posts: 1,683
    Originally posted by lethys


    I originally put the Lion the Witch and the Wardrobe, but how about The Iliad and The Odyssey?  What a great number of PvP possibilities...its a slightly mystical world so that allows for some great bosses, Odysseus is king.  Iliad provides the setting of the Trojan War, and PvE bosses could be things such as Cyclops, Sirens, Circe, etc.
    Such strong possibilities for a great game, wow.  Maybe a game that just includes all that kind of lifestyle and lore with the greek gods would be very, very nice.

     Narnia is tied up by Disney. We've seen what fantasic MMOs they've put out so far, right?

     

     

    As for the Homer and Virgil's works...well technically Gods and Heroes would have done that. But it flopped/

  • moorgothmoorgoth Member Posts: 4

     Two series of novels that I feel greatly deserve being explored in the MMO genre are Dragonlance and Forgotten Realms. While both are technically based on Dungeons and Dragons. Both campaign settings are arguably more popular than the Eberron setting, which has spawned a relatively successful game. Both Krynn and Faerun have very rich lore and backstories allowing for an infinite number of adventures simultaneously occuring and affecting the fate of all. Interesting ideas for settings include, for Dragonlance, the War of the Lance, or the era before the Cataclysm.  Either of these games aI feel have infinite potential. Of course I'm also partial to a Wheel of Time, Thomas Covenant,  or Ender's Saga MMO, heh.

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